Canvas & Keys

7. I'll Just Sneak Around A Bit And Try Not To Get Caught...

When they were in conversation and had the nerve to have a good time...

"Don't you dare smile and laugh! You do fucking realize what you are, who you are, right? If you could shoot you all without getting killed myself, you'd bet your ass I would have years ago!"

Or when they insisted they stand outside the door to the bathroom when either of us was inside...

"Bunch of perverted assholes, all of you. Do you want a strip tease, too? Sorry, but only one man has the privilege of seeing that!"

And, my personal favorite, when they raided the fridge...

"You fucking sons of bitches! Do you bastards wanna buy me some more food? Dammit, you ate everything!"

She sounded so much like Cruz, it was no wonder they were perfect for each other.

While Kenna was grumbling, Flannery and I actually got some piece of mind while keeping an eye on Beau. Changing his bandages had become a night routine for us, working side by side while making sure he was comfortable. What scared us most was when he was wake up only for moments at a time.

The first time, all he did was mumble and turn his head slowly from side to side.

The second, he hissed through his teeth as Flannery cleaned one of his cuts that had become infected after two days being at Kenna's.

But the third time, while she was taking out his stitches on one gash that had healed up within four days, his eyes opened and landed on me.

"Hattie," he breathed.

"Hey," I smiled, holding tighter to his hand and brushing his hair back from his forehead. "You don't know how good it is to see you awake."

But his eyes drifted slowly closed again as he whispered my name again.

When I looked up, Flannery pulled a needle from the crease of his elbow.

"Morphine," she said, setting it down beside her on the tray full of supplies. "He's in too much pain when he's conscious. Plus, he'll heal faster the more he's relaxed. He'll be opening up he stitches if I didn't."

I nodded, understanding. "I know...but at least he's waking up on his own. How long will that dose last him?"

Flannery shrugged, looking down at him. "A few hours maybe. I'll stay up and look after him. You get some sleep, okay?"

Over the previous few days, I couldn't help but notice the way she'd been looking at him, laid up in Kenna's bed, cut to pieces, and unconscious. But looking at her then, it was almost like she was upset, but about what...well, it could be a few things.

Beau still being out of it.

The two of us and Kenna basically being under Order servitude.

Or maybe even that it was me Beau saw when he woke up.

The last one...I was definitely going with the last one.

***

Day eleven.

And it was only day eleven because it was almost three in the morning.

We were in Kenna's room. Beau was still unconscious, Flannery was sleeping in an armchair in one corner, and I was wide awake, lying on my makeshift bed on the floor. Kenna had been there, too, but she got up ten minutes before and snuck out to get something to eat like she had pretty much every night.

I held my flash drive between my fingers, twisting it above me in the dim moonlight coming through the window. It had started raining that afternoon and hadn't stopped, but it was bright enough to make out the outlines of everything in the room. Other than the rain hitting the roof and window, nothing else could be heard except for Beau and Flannery's steady breathing.